The legal industry is not exactly known for offering work-life balance. Nearly one-third of women lawyers continue to leave the profession. Many women lawyers simply never make it to the partner level because they don’t want to give up having a family or pursuing their other interests and life goals.

Above the Law, a popular online legal blog, recently published the departure memo of an associate at Clifford Chance, a big law firm in D.C. In her memo, this associate recounted, in minute-by-minute detail, what her typical daily schedule looked like as she attempted to balance motherhood and her legal career. It started with waking up to hear her baby crying at 4 a.m., and ended at 1:30 a.m. -- after falling asleep at her desk trying to complete the many tasks on her "50-item-to-do-list" from work.

Unfortunately, this is a typical day -- not only for this particular associate, but for the many women lawyers who are working incredibly demanding jobs while also taking care of families. The associate’s schedule resonated with so many women that the memo wound up all over the Internet, including The Huffington Post and The New York Times.

Do women really have to leave the law in order to achieve work-life balance?

I don't think so. More and more women lawyers are opting out of the old school law firm mentality that require them to make impossible choices and, instead, are using technology to create thriving law practices that fit their lifestyle -- virtual ones, that is.

A virtual law office (VLO) is a law firm, run by a lawyer or group of lawyers, that meets the legal needs of its clients securely over the Internet and through other technological tools. For lawyers, this means that no physical office is required, allowing attorneys to maximize profit while offering flexibility and having the option to work from home or anywhere else. For clients, VLOs provide an incredibly convenient way to take care of legal needs online while working without compromising the quality of the legal representation.

And many of the virtual law offices currently open are run by women lawyers. In fact, it was a woman lawyer, Stephanie Kimbro, who developed one of the first pieces of software to run a law office online. While there are still some skeptics, the reality is that virtual law offices are a much-needed modernization that can benefit both lawyers and their clients.

Sound tempting? Here are the steps I took to create my own (profitable) virtual law office:

Develop a menu of services and corresponding fee schedule that is both palatable to your ideal clients and profitable for you. I do not believe that lawyers who practice online need to offer bargain basement pricing. Besides, who would trust a discount lawyer? That said, you certainly can pass some of the savings of foregoing a physical office on to your clients.

Step #3: Establish a credible presence as an attorney online.

It is a reality that you won’t be able to immediately replace your former law firm salary. Growing a practice takes time, and high overhead is a practice killer. With a secure client portal (which cost next to nothing, thanks to companies like Total Attorneys) and a WordPress website, you can have a polished, professional practice (without the high costs of office space) that gives you and your practice time to get established and grow.

Step #4: Convert prospects into paid clients.

It won’t help to be a great lawyer offering a great, convenient service if no one knows about it. Create a simple and inexpensive marketing plan using blogging and social media that is focused on serving a clearly defined set of clients. You’ll also need a basic sales strategy; something as simple as “listening, educating and asking for the business” works.